I watched the Hawke tele-movie last night, hoping to see something of quality in a portrayal of Labor’s greatest leader of the modern era. Sadly, all I saw was a disjointed and emotionless profile backed by some mediocre acting. The characterisation of key Labor figures of the late `70’s was also pretty damn poor, I thought. To the point where I thought players other than ‘Hawke’ and ‘Keating’ should have been wearing signs on their chests to identify who they were. I picked up on Kim Beazley, Robert Ray, Bill Kelty and Graham Richardson but that was it for me. Maybe I spotted John Faulkner, but then, there were so many bit players with heavy-rimmed glasses….
The story jumped around way too much, and focussed on the frailties of the principal players while ignoring the actual socio-political achievements of both Hawke & Keating governments. Were it not for the summarised achievements right at the end, with the credits, a political newbie would have automatically thought that both governments would have been lame ducks and that politics is really just a brutal gladiatorial battle field for over-inflated egos. Not that politics isn’t a brutal gladiatorial battle field for over-inflated egos, but it’s far more than just that. Politics is a stage upon which the theatre of our nation’s social and cultural development is played out.
Of all the stories which deserved telling, Keating’s was reduced to another mere bit part, which was probably the most disappointing part. Hopefully, someone will do the Keating side, and do a better job of it so we can get the real story, without all the sideline trash.